Fortis gets board approval for Wockhardt buyout

Leading hospital chain Fortis Healthcare on Monday said its board of directors has given its approval for acquiring 10 of Wockhardt's hospitals at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata for an undisclosed amount.

Leading hospital chain Fortis Healthcare on Monday said its board of directors has given its approval for acquiring 10 of Wockhardt's hospitals at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata for an undisclosed amount.

The company board in a meeting today approved in-principle, the broad terms and conditions for acquisition of 10 Wockhardt hospitals at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata with an aggregate bed capacity of 1902, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Fortis has further authorised the top management to finalise and execute the business transfer agreement with Wockhardt Hospitals.

These hospitals will be acquired on a going concern basis through one of Fortis' wholly owned subsidiaries, the filing added.

According to sources in the know, the deal would be in the range of Rs 1,000- 1,200 crore and is for 10 of Wokhardt's hospitals -- three in Kolkata, two in Mumbai and five in Bangalore.

Fortis has 28 hospitals in its kitty with around 3,300 beds and has set a target of 40 hospitals -- about 7,000-bed capacity -- by 2011.

With the addition of 1902 beds the total bed capacity of Fortis would go up to over 5200 beds.